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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Changes

We are in full-fledged packing mode over here. The three of us aren't leaving Missouri until June 2nd, but the moving van is leaving with my parents on May 21st. They're coming for my graduation and it seemed like a better plan for them to fly in and drive the van back than for us to drive 10 hours in two separate vehicles with a nine month old. I really don't want to rush the packing process and I want to enjoy all of the events leading up to graduation, so I've been trying to do a little bit each day. Yesterday I rocked at packing and cleaning. Like, I literally worked nonstop all day, and I think the entire living room is packed and the bathroom is organized in a way that we can still use it but everything's ready to go.

The memories are starting to flow. We've been remembering the move out here and how we thought this apartment was the most amazing place in the world. It was, after all, our first home. We found the photos we took when we signed the lease back in March 2009. The apartment looked so huge to us then. In one of them, you can see a tree out the window that is still there, and we both were amazed by how much it grew. I guess, to be sappy, we've really grown too. We don't fit here anymore. I don't even think that has as much to do with having a baby as you would think, either. We're just growing. We're just ready to move on. But that doesn't mean we can't be a little teary when we say goodbye to our first home.

This was a huge weekend for Evelyn. Ever since she figured out how to move those roly-poly knees, she hasn't stopped crawling. I was really hoping she'd hold off until we were in our new place, because this one is absolutely impossible to babyproof. Every time I turn around she is going after a cord or a stack of papers or a glass of water.

Then yesterday she was super grumpy and I put her on my lap for a minute and she looked at me with her "peanut mouth" (as we like to call it when she's crying and her mouth takes a peanut shape) and said, "Maaama." I almost died. She kept saying it all afternoon, but not to anything or anyone in particular. It's not associative yet, but it's still pretty awesome. I feel so loved.

So this morning I did my daily check for teeth-- the one I've been doing for at least 4 months now-- and she had a sharp little bottom tooth! It's not really visible, but it's definitely there. How fun! People are always talking about how kids grow up so fast and to enjoy every moment, so we are trying to do just that. Instead of saying, "Slow down!" or "I miss when she used to..." we are trying to really live in the moment, so that we will have no regrets. We're not going to stop her from growing up, so we need to cherish every different stage of her life. Whether it's how different we were when we moved here three years ago, or how much Evelyn changes from a Friday to a Sunday, it truly is essential to soak up every moment.